Negranti Creamery - Black Coffee Chocolate Chip Sheep Milk Ice Cream - July 15, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Negranti Creamery
Black Coffee Chocolate Chip (sheep milk ice cream)
Good ++
Weight: 1/2 cup (85 g.) / 1 Pint (473 mL.) in total container
Calories: 150 calories in 1 serving
Cost: $8.99 for 1 container
Purchased from: Piazza's, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #14 of Chocolate and Coffee Theme Week(s).

Today's Black Coffee Chocolate Chip sheep milk* ice cream was created by Alex Negranti and team at Negranti Creamery (Paso Robles, CA).

This ice cream had an authentic, rich coffee with milk aroma. 

The texture was more like traditional (home made/high-quality) ice milk--hard to find anymore. It was refreshing and satisfying, with an even, relatively quick melt, and with a bit less heavy cream and other residue(s). (The absence of vegetable gums and other ingredients often used in ice creams to enhance "creaminess" was refreshing in and of itself.)

Strong, bold dark, "black" coffee flavor melded with naturally sweet (almost fruity) and faintly nutty notes in this ice cream. Tiny chocolate chunks provided flecks of crunchy texture and added flavor depth.

Ingredients: Sheep milk, cane sugar, coffee, chocolate chunks (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, milk fat), tapioca starch. 

Allergen-related information: (Contained dairy (sheep milk)). "Made on shared equipment, may contain nuts."

*Why sheep milk? The sheep milk used to make today's ice cream almost certainly contained the easier-to-digest A2 protein (vs. the A1 protein in most cow milk sold in the U.S.). And the sheep were pasture-fed. (A grass diet can contribute to a healthier nutritional profile.) 

Also, sheep milk is said to be higher in certain vitamins and minerals as well as having fats that are healthier and easier to digest. 

Finally, unlike goat milk's very slightly gamey flavor, sheep milk tends to be neutral and slightly sweet.

Negranti - Chocolate Sheep Milk Ice Cream - Aug. 24, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Negranti Creamery

Chocolate Sheep Milk Ice Cream

Good +

Weight: 1/2 cup (85 g.) / 1 Pint (473 mL) in total container

Calories: 140 calories in 1/2 cup serving  

Cost: $8.99 for 1 container

Purchased from: The Market at Edgewood, Palo Alto, CA 

Welcome to Day #2 of Cold Chocolate and Theme Week, featuring frozen, and refrigerated items with chocolate--a fitting good-bye to summer in late August.

Today's Chocolate Sheep Milk Ice Cream was hand-crafted by Negranti Creamery (Paso Robles, CA)--a family owned and operated ice cream maker on the Central Coast of California. (Alexis Negranti makes the recipes.)

This sheep milk ice cream had a smooth, rich almost nutty chocolate flavor. 

The number one reason why I liked this, aside from an enjoyable taste: there were no artificial ingredients, preservatives or vegetable gums; and it was gluten-free. Also, this ice cream contained the shortest ingredient list (see below) that I've encountered in the ice cream section, perhaps ever. 

Other benefits the company offered up: "1.) Lactose intolerant friendly, 2.) 45 percent higher in protein than cow's milk ice cream, 3.) Significantly lower in fat than traditional cow's milk ice cream and gelato, 4.) Free from egg, gum, artificial ingredients and preservatives, and 5.) Crafted with fresh, wholesome ingredients, always." 

Ingredients: Sheep milk, cane sugar, cocoa, tapioca starch, vanilla extract.

Allergen-related information: "Made on shared equipment; may contain nuts"

ChocolateBet: October 3, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1/2 bar
Choco-Lina
Sheep Milk Chocolate bar
Good +
Weight: 1.51 oz. (45 grams)/3.17 oz. (90 g.) in total bar
Calories: 226 calories (estimate)
Cost: $7.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, in San Francisco, CA

The actual name for this bar from Vienna, Austria, is "Schafmilchschokolade" (Sheep Milk Chocolate). I am always impressed when I see words this long. I couldn't really detect any strong sheep milk taste. However, milk chocolate can be very sweet, and this sweetness can mask flavors almost as well as the taste of very dark chocolate. I liked the individual sheep stamped in each square of the chocolate bar.

Today's chocolate choice was inspired by a trip I'm making today up to The Sea Ranch, along the Northern California Coast. Grassy fields that once held sheep now contain (mostly vacation/second) homes, and occasionally small groups of deer. Although there were small design concessions made to honor a sheep ranch past. The Sea Ranch logo is based on a ram's horns, and unpainted wood siding on homes seems like a nod to old sheep ranch structures. Digression: I have yet to hear about any deer milk chocolate, although I would not be surprised to hear that someone, somewhere in the world is considering this. Maybe reindeer milk?

Note: Chocolate eating will continue while I'm gone for the next several days, but posting will be delayed, due to lack of Internet connectivity.